The White Snake
by dethronedgod
Summary: Higuchi was trapped in a death game, Sword Art Online, by his own father. All hope appeared to be lost until he fell in love with a girl named Asuna and everything seemed right. When she is taken from him his world and his mind were shattered and his sadistic tendencies come to light.
1. Chapter 1

The world around him was completely pixelated and yet it felt so real upon touching it. The sun felt real but it was artificial even the body he occupied was nothing but an avatar. The bright sun beat down on the town, making it seem brighter than it was. By the year 2022, humanity had accomplished many technological wonders including the Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (VRMMORPG). This was what the world around him was, a virtual simulation, and a very realistic one at that. The game was called Sword Art Online and this is what the young man was standing in and absorbing. His name was Higuchi, this was only his avatar but this was what he was going to have to go by. His real name was Kyousuke Akihiko and his father was the genius behind the game. Kayaba Akihiko was distant and seemed to have all the time in the world for work but never his son. This left Kyousuke wondering if he even loved him at all and he eventually came to the conclusion that it's unlikely that his father really did care about him.

He shook his head to relieve himself of these memories. He was no longer Kyousuke Akihiko, high school student and all around tech nerd. Today for this period of time, he was Higuchi, speed type assassin and katana master. He ran his gloved hand through his white hair as if he could wipe away the memories with that action alone. Unsurprisingly it failed to give the results he wanted. He walked forward to what was called the Town of Beginnings, where dozens of other players were already talking about how amazing this game was and how realistic everything seemed. The world was called Aincrad. It was basically one floating castle that managed to fit never-ending environments ranging from towns to deserts, to grasslands, to mountains. "This is incredible," was a term that was echoed among the Town of Beginnings. It was similar to a medieval marketplace place you would expect to find in fantasy games similar to this, even the music playing in the background gave off that ambience. Higuchi's white eyes darted back and forth as he walked through the town, taking in every detail he could within his line of sight.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he felt something ram right into his back forcing him and whatever it was to tumble to the ground. "Sorry 'bout that." a voice said as the person it belonged to lifted themselves off of Higuchi. "Take it easy." he said forcing himself to one knee with one gloved hand over the part of his face that scraped across the stone pavement. Higuchi turned to see someone that had an uncanny resemblance to a clichéd fantasy protagonist. This guy had an exaggerated look about him that screamed artificial, but this was to be expected as Higuchi did the same thing with his hair and eyes. His face, however, he decided to keep the same. Higuchi looked to the right side of the person's head where the name was supposed to be floating. It read _Kirito_ he had black hair that fell into his eyes and slightly down to his shoulders. Higuchi noted that he was wearing a sort of armor that covered only the vital parts of his abdomen. Everyone got the same kind of armor when first logging into the game. Kirito wore a long sleeve dark blue shirt while Higuchi wore a black one.

"Are you okay?" Kirito asked. "Yeah, I'll live." Higuchi said removing his hand from his face. Fortunately there was no noticeable wound from when he fell onto the ground. "Just watch where you're going." Higuchi said as he began walking away. "You sure you're okay?" Kirito asked as Higuchi looked at his own health bar. The bright green line below his name had decreased by 0.5, it wasn't any damage that wouldn't heal itself over time. "Forget it, these things happen. Besides I can't feel pain in here." Higuchi said. Nobody could feel pain when they were hurt in the simulation but some people still reacted out of habit. If one could feel pain while in Aincrad then they had better get used to it because they would be fighting monsters and wielding deadly weapons, sometimes against each other.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay, I'm gonna move on." Kirito said and Higuchi refuted with an awkward, "See you around." After Kirito ran off, Higuchi continued his walk to gather his bearings in Aincrad. Higuchi decided to look around town to see if there is anything else of interest for him. What immediately came to his attention was a girl standing in front of a building looking at her menu with confusion written all over her face. Higuchi noticed that she had brown hair and she wore a hairpin to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She wore a long sleeve red shirt under her starting armor. Her shiny eyes had a captivating feel even with the rest of her face being a mix of confusion and frustration.

Higuchi made his way over to her but didn't know what to say except, "What's up?" The girl turned to him, giving him a small smile and saying, "Hi there." She went right back to looking through her menu, clearly not knowing what she was doing. "So, you seem confused. What's the problem? Maybe I can help." Higuchi said. This was completely uncharacteristic of Higuchi. He only gave help whenever people asked it of him but he never offered. "Well, I'm looking for a job to gain cash in this game but I'm not sure which one to go with. A notice told me once I choose one I can't change it." The girl said, allowing Higuchi to look over her shoulder to see a list of occupation choices. Smith, healer, merchant, assassin and paladin were only a few jobs on the long list of occupations. Higuchi could see how the girl had a difficult time making a decision.

"Well, what I would do is see if the job fits you personally," Higuchi said as he scrolled through the menu as he said this. "For example, do you want a job that has little to no fighting?"

"I'd like to avoid getting killed, so yes."

"Okay, do you work well with animals?"

"Not really."

"Do you like working with your hands?"

"Yes, actually."

"Okay there's blacksmith and construction."

"Hmmm… Blacksmith. That sounds good."

"Good choice. You'll want to build up your skill though and if you haven't picked a weapon to specialize in, I'd recommend a mace in the event that something does attack you." After Higuchi said that the girl selected blacksmith. "Thank you so much for your help. I don't know what I would've done without you," the girl said with a bright smile. "No problem. If that's all, I'll be going. If you need anything just message me." Higuchi started walking away to continue his original objective, absorbing his surroundings. He planned to keep on walking until the girl yelling "Wait…" delayed his plans. "Ummm… My name is Lisbeth. What's yours?" Higuchi turned to look at the girl and said, "My name is Higuchi."

Suddenly a bell ringing in the Town of Beginnings seemed to echo throughout the world, following that there was a bright light illuminating the area and by some sort of virtual sorcery anyone left was back in the Town of Beginnings. "What the hell?" Higuchi thought as everyone around him looked as confused as he was. What was going on? Someone forced a teleport but why? "Look up there!" Someone yelled, pointing at a red thing in the sky that multiplied until the entire sky was a crimson red. Upon closer inspection one would notice that the red shapes multiplying in the sky were two triangles connected at their bottoms. Inside the shape was the words, " _Error Occurred_ ". The shapes consumed everything above the Town of Beginnings. "What is that?" Higuchi said. As soon as he said this, what looked like blood poured through the shapes and gathered just above the gamers, slowly taking sentient form. The once crimson liquid turned into a dark red hooded cloak but there was no face in the hood. It seemed as if it was a strange specter haunting Sword Art Online. This was the game master in all of his glory, he finally decided to reveal himself to the players. The being spoke with a voice familiar only to Higuchi.

"Attention players, welcome to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world. I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus - the log out button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how 'Sword Art Online' was designed to be."

After Kayaba said this Higuchi pulled open his menu to find the log out button was in fact missing. He had planned on staying all day so he didn't bother checking his menu. Now he wished he had so he could've found out about this sooner.

"You cannot log out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the nerve gear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the nerve gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life. Despite my warnings, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the nerve gear… an unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both SAO and the real world."

As Kayaba spoke, he pulled up various articles from the internet about the outrage surrounding the game and those trapped in it. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a nerve gear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system permanently. And the nerve gear will simultaneously destroy your brain. There is only one way for a player to escape now; you must clear the game. Right now, you're gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

Higuchi felt somewhat sick as the speech continued. This was not just some megalomaniac holding them all hostage. No, this was his own father. His family was against him now and the confusion and fright swam around in Higuchi's head. He wasn't sure how to feel or what to say or do. His father was hardly ever there for him, but he was still his parent. Was this why he spent a majority of his time away from him? Was he neglecting his son to create a world to trap people in? For what purpose?

"Last but not least I have left a small present in the inventory. Please take a look." Higuchi pulled up his menu and selected his inventory. All that was in there was a mirror. Higuchi held the mirror in his hand and stared at his reflection. Everyone looked at their small hand mirrors and suddenly bright flashes of light consumed them. When the lights dissipated everyone looked around confused and dazed. They all looked different from how they looked previously. "You okay, Higuchi?" Lisbeth asked and Higuchi turned to see a complete stranger with Lisbeth's voice. "Yeah, I am. Who are you?" Higuchi asked and Lisbeth looked into the hand mirror she was holding and saw herself. She was shocked by her own reflection, Lisbeth didn't have a whole lot of change. The exception was the small but distinct freckles on her face that weren't there before. Higuchi looked at his own reflection in his mirror and noticed no change. His face was still the same because he chose to use no modifications to alter his appearance besides his hair and eye color.

It took a while for Higuchi to recognize Lisbeth, but by the time he did Higuchi finally realized this was how she looked in real life. "The scan. There's some kind of scanner in the nerve gear that can see your face. But how did it know your height and body type and all that?" Higuchi asked and Lisbeth was too scared by this to answer him. She didn't know anyway.

"Right now you're probably asking why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and nerve gear do this? Ultimately my goal is a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players I wish you the best of luck." As Kayaba said this he faded back into a crimson liquid and seeped through the red shapes in the sky which then melted away showing the sky once again. This wasn't a game; if anyone died they would die in real life. It was difficult for everyone to take in, especially Higuchi. This was his father for Christ's sake, he wasn't sure what to feel except hurt. He was hurt that his father would do this to him and everyone around him, and for what? To play god?

Higuchi couldn't find Lisbeth after that so she must have run off somewhere. He had bigger things to worry about, though. He decided it would be best to head to the next village for it would only be a matter of time before the hunting areas in the Town of Beginnings were cleaned out. If he moved out now, then chances are he would have a head start in hunting and gaining EXP. He needed to get as strong as he could or at the very least gain experience in order to find his way to the 100th floor and escape. He didn't have time to work alongside others so he needed to survive in any way he could. His plan was to identify a beta tester, one of the few thousand people who got to play the game before it was officially released, as they knew where the boss was located. They had a better chance of finding and killing it. It wouldn't be easy but that was what his father wanted to put them through. He marched onto the next village to start planning for battle and for freedom.


	2. Chapter 2

More than 2,000 have been killed since the game launched one month ago. The first floor had yet to be cleared, so until then everyone was stuck in that one place unsure of what to do. They did what they could to occupy their time with the exception of a group of people. Higuchi was among these people who had met up in what looked like a small stadium and were watching the blue haired person attentively standing in the center. Higuchi had discovered a long time ago that following a beta tester to the boss would be pointless as they didn't even know where it was. Higuchi took temporary residence in the town Tolbana, the second largest town on the first floor aside from the Town of Beginnings. What was being held in the arena was a meeting organized by a man named Diabel.

"Okay people! Now that everyone's here, let's get started!" Diabel said getting everyone's attention. The people sitting in the arena had been conversing amongst themselves about what they were doing there. All of them had received a promising message from Diabel. "I want to start this meeting off by thanking you all for coming today and introducing myself. I am Diabel and in this game I am a knight." Everyone laughed at the self-proclaimed knight. There were no classes in this game. Ordinarily you could even choose your race in MMOs but in SAO you couldn't even do that. You were human and so was everyone else. Higuchi thought to himself, 'Everyone here is virtually a knight, what makes you so special?' Diabel struck Higuchi as someone that wanted to be seen as special and was trying too hard to do so.

"Do you want to hear this or not? Listen, our party found the boss' lair at the top of the tower today. First we need to defeat the boss to make it to floor two, then we have to tell everyone still in the Town of Beginnings that this game can be beaten. It is our duty as the most capable players to prove this! Do you agree or not?" Everyone in the game cheered loudly, so loud that Higuchi unconsciously put his finger in his left ear in an attempt to block out the sound without it being too obvious. This was quite a speech Diabel had to offer and it encouraged people to believe that they could win. He was charismatic, Higuchi gave him that but beyond that Higuchi just wanted to get this over with. He wanted to move on to the next floor as soon as possible and if anyone were to offer him any kind of information on the subject he would take it. "Okay, now let's figure out how we're going to defeat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance so we need multiple parties."

Higuchi looked around to see everyone had already joined up and there were no available groups as the maximum was six. Higuchi looked left and right to see if there was anyone available. He saw a group of five conversing and planning. He walked toward them unsure of what to say. "Hey guys. I couldn't help but notice you've only got five members. I can be the sixth if you want." The one closest to him sneered, "Piss off, loser." He attempted reasoning that they needed six people per party and they had only five so he would help fulfill the criteria. All they did was laugh and tell him to "get his weak ass out of here." He wasn't weak, he was about as good as everyone else who started but they just said, "Not our problem."

Higuchi didn't press the issue much further except to imagine the various ways he could lash out and hurt this person. He imagined slamming the heel of his boot into his temple or breaking his nose on his knee. He wouldn't actually do this but he wanted to hurt this person as his anger was only to the point of images of causing pain and suffering. Then he thought, maybe it would be best to go at this alone. He then noticed two people talking amongst themselves and saw them join as a party. Higuchi couldn't help but feel a small bit of jealousy as to how these people could so easily become friends and he couldn't. The people talking were a boy his age and a hooded girl. The girl barely even said anything. She didn't have to do anything and she was invited to join a party while Higuchi just got insulted upon offering his services.

"Hey, you got left out too, huh?" Someone said interrupting his train of thought. He looked up to see someone his age but his hair and eyes were black. This boy had a rather feminine face with no masculine traits whatsoever. At least not from strictly eyeballing him. Next to him was the hooded girl who, unsurprisingly, said nothing. These were the two people Higuchi couldn't help but observe and couldn't stop himself from staring at. They must have noticed him sitting by himself with a look of despair on his face. "Umm… Yeah." Higuchi said looking down at his boots embarrassedly. He was embarrassed that he got caught and now he had to talk to people that would probably tell him to mind his own business or even ask him why someone like him was even at this meeting. None of these things happened though. Instead, he received an invite to join their party. He looked at the boy and girl standing in front of him but the party invite floated back into his line of sight. The boy looked as surprised as him, so it became obvious that he hadn't sent it.

"You might as well join us," the hooded girl said in a nonchalant manner. "We need all the help we can get with just us two." Higuchi looked at the invite which said, "Would you like to join this party?" In the section of names it said Kirito and Asuna. Higuchi remembered the name Kirito from somewhere but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He decided this thought was pointless and after a small amount of hesitation, selected 'yes' on the notice. It's the best course of action, he decided. He had learned during the beta test that he couldn't take on the boss alone.

"Hold up a sec!" Someone yelled out from the top of the stairs. The man who called the attention to himself and leaped down to the floor and commenced his speech. "My name's Kibaou, got that? Before we take on the boss, I want to get something off my chest! We all know about the two thousand people who died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!" Kibaou was a short yet burly man with spikey, cactus style brown hair. He had a goatee that was the same color as his hair. He had scale mail armor with a large one handed sword on his back.

"The day this stupid ass game started, the beta guys just got up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too! They were the only ones getting stronger in here." Kibaou ranted while pointing his finger at the people sitting in their individual seats. "This whole time, they've ignored us like we were nothing. Hell, I bet there are some of them here! Come on out, beta testers! We should make them apologize to us, and we should make them all give up their money and the items they got! They can't expect the party to trust them when they don't trust us! Why should we?!" Kibaou was calling out the beta testers but Higuchi couldn't help but feel irritated at the cactus head's little speech. He didn't dare say anything though, if he did the light would shine on him as a beta tester. This was the last thing he needed right now. Higuchi had all sorts of unpleasant thoughts running through his head as Kibaou continued calling out the beta testers, including all the ways he would like to hurt him.

Suddenly a muscular African-American man made his way towards Kibaou. He was much taller than Kibaou so he seemed to lose his nerve to an extent. The man had two silver rings in his left ear, a brown goatee and brown eyes. His bald head towered over Kibaou, who backed away from him after he made his way over to him.

"My name is Agil," he said, "I just want to make sure we're on the same page here. You're saying it's the beta testers' fault that we can't find the boss right?" While he said this he pulled out a small brown book. "Well, what if I told you this… the item store hands these guidebooks out. You got one right?" Kibaou nodded at him, confirming he also got a guidebook. "You know who handed these out? The ex-beta testers. Everyone had equal access to this information but 2,000 players still died. I didn't come to point fingers. I came to learn from previous mistakes. I'm here to figure out how to beat the boss."

Higuchi felt a small amount of admiration for this man who could do what he didn't. He had remembered when he had distributed that book a few months ago, when he had pieced together the levels he had been in. The guidebook itself was just a recollection of the bosses and how to beat them but it would be useful nonetheless. As Diavel went on to discussing the first boss all Higuchi could think of was the many ways he could have humiliated Kibaou when he delivered his rant. He thought of shoving the guidebook in his face and saying, "Here's how to beat the bosses and you didn't even look for it. I even gave it out for free. I wasted all that time I could have been hunting and getting stronger with by helping cowards like you who don't even want to put in the effort of looking for hunting spots." That would have been followed by Kibaou's humiliation along with a half- assed apology.

This hadn't happened though, and all Higuchi could do was watch as after the speech ended Kibaou gave Diavel an apology, which was accepted without hesitation. At least he got to see that. Asuna and Kirito noticed Higuchi's distraction and his glare towards Kibaou. "Hey, you okay?" Kirito said and Higuchi looked up at him. "You've been staring into space the whole time."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Higuchi said. It was all he could say at this time.

At night Higuchi was wandering through the town as everyone else was socializing and talking about how there was finally hope for them. He looked up from the bread he had obtained and noticed the hooded girl walking away by herself. ' _What was her name again?_ ' he thought and then finally remembered. " _Asuna._ " He approached her slowly, unsure of how she would react. He imagined she would be irritated by his presence, but surprisingly she wasn't.

"Hey, hold on!" Higuchi called out to get her attention. She turned towards him as the white haired assassin ran up to her. She didn't recognize him at first but eventually she did. After he caught his breath he finally said, "I'm sorry to bother you, I just wanted to ask you something."

"You're not bothering me. What is it?" Asuna said.

"Why did you invite me into your party? You didn't need to even think about it, so why would you want to work with some like… me?" Higuchi asked.

"I heard you get told off by those guys at the meeting and I saw your reaction. I hate it when someone does something like that." Asuna said. Higuchi felt humbled in her presence. He didn't do anything, but she was nice enough to give him a chance to work with her. In his head, she was the only genuinely good person he had ever met. "Thank you," was all he could think and so that was all he could say. She accepted his thanks and they both went their separate ways.

The group made their way over to the boss dungeon and Higuchi watched from afar as Kirito and Asuna talked amongst themselves. Asuna was still shrouded in her hooded cloak and it had occurred to Higuchi he had never seen her without it in the few days he'd known her. Both she and Kirito were the same as they had always been, many steps ahead of him. So close but so far.

Diavel suddenly stopped at the boss dungeon gate and everybody else stopped as well. "Listen up, everyone. I have nothing else to say except, let's win!" His "speech", if you could call it that, wasn't exactly inspirational but Higuchi didn't complain. After all, what could he possibly say?

Diavel led the group past the doorway into the dungeon where the boss sat waiting for them. The name "Illfang the Kobold Lord" was shining above his head along with four bright green health bars. Illfang stood at approximately two meters tall and was covered in a dark red shade of fur. He looked almost like a giant red kangaroo holding a bone axe and leather shield. He wore an ill-fitting helmet on his head which left his bright red eyes exposed. Surrounding the monster where three red demi-human creatures called Ruin Kobold sentinels. They wore body armor protecting their entire bodies except for their throats. The monsters in front of the gamers drew their weapons and attacked.

When the battle started, Diavel began barking orders and everyone acted them out. Higuchi stood with squads E and F. Their orders were to keep the sentinels away from the players attacking Illfang. Higuchi watched from afar until one of them called for the switch. He saw Asuna fight off the sentinel and the white haired assassin was in awe. He was prepared to defend her, but then thought she might not need protection.

Asuna called for a switch and Higuchi rushed forward. He drew his katana and slashed away at the sentinel. He wasn't strong but he was fast. Faster than everyone in squads E and F thought possible of him. In their eyes he was a shy loner who would just sit back and watch, but they were surprised to see he had skills. The sentinel thrust its sword forward multiple times only for Higuchi to dodge and use his katana to strike the open areas that would bring its health down.

When the throat was open Higuchi took the opportunity to ram his blade through it. The digital blood spilled out onto Higuchi's gloved hand and it twitched as its life bar depleted. The sentinel's body shattered into many colorful pieces when Higuchi gruesomely ripped the blade from its neck. He turned to the others in squads E and F and said "switch" just loudly enough for everyone to hear him but nobody did anything. The first thing Higuchi noticed everyone was staring in awe with their mouths agape. Everyone else had the exact same reaction, including Asuna. Higuchi couldn't see her eyes because of the hooded cloak but he imagined they were wide with shock like the others in their squad.

Illfang's health bars decreased to the fourth and final bar, which changed color from green to red. The monster tossed the bone axe and shield aside in a powerful motion and switched weapons to a nodachi. It didn't take long before Illfang hacked and slashed at the many people running to take it down. Leading them was Diavel. Higuchi let the people trying to play hero get killed off and ducked down to avoid getting hit by an incoming body that was sent soaring through the air. Every person who was affected had their health bars depleted to red and it was slowly decreasing at an almost painful rate.

Higuchi felt the bottom of his trench coat get pulled down as someone behind him tried to get his attention from the floor. He saw someone who looked familiar begging for his help. He then remembered him from the briefing Diavel gave. Higuchi had offered to join his group and he had rudely told him off. "What are you waiting for? I'm dying! Help me!" He yelled out. Higuchi waited for a second before yanking the edge of his coat away from the dying player. "Piss off, loser."

His eyes widened as Higuchi walked away to join the others in the fight against the boss. "What are you doing?! You can't do this! I'm dying!" Higuchi turned and said, "Not my problem." Higuchi felt somewhat better as he heard his body disintegrate into multiple colorful shards. He only regretted not watching him die. He would worry about that later, though. Right now there was a monster he had to slay and slay it he would.


	3. Chapter 3

The white-haired assassin's katana blade reflected the monstrous red kangaroo that had slaughtered many a player without mercy. He took up a firm stance and prepared himself mentally for the battle's commencement. Higuchi stood in the middle of the horde of survivors, watching as the dungeon's boss let out a fierce roar. This roar was its battle cry and everyone was intimidated by it. They took several steps back to avoid getting obliterated by the giant nodachi. Nobody was prepared for this to occur and certainly nobody was prepared for what was about to come.

All anyone could do was dodge the blows of the gigantic weapon. They could only run and hope they were fast enough. Some of them weren't so fast while others were just unlucky. Fighters were depleting surprisingly fast and Higuchi was embarrassed by how everyone lost their confidence in the face of confrontation. He looked from his left to his right to see Kirito and Asuna standing beside him. They were potentially thinking the same thing. "I say we hit him just like we did the minions." Higuchi said, "We'll have a better chance taking him on all at once instead of individually. We should attack him from all sides. I noticed he could only focus on one area at a time, so his strike range is extremely limited."

"He's right. He can only make one singular attack in one direction." Kirito said. Asuna's eyes shined brightly despite the hooded cloak covering most of her face. Kirito and Asuna took up their own battle stances as everyone surrounding them backed away from the towering monster that looked as if it stood as tall as the dungeon itself. The monster had the advantage of size, but it wasn't very intelligent because it just swung its nodachi around aimlessly. The beast was surprisingly fast for its size though. It would certainly be a challenge for the few gamers who managed to keep a calm composure. They had not heard Higuchi's plan but they had tried to deduce their own. Higuchi, Kirito and Asuna charged simultaneously from different angles with their blades drawn and their nerves steeled for the chance they might not survive this battle.

The three players attacked Illfang hacking and slashing away at its bright red flesh exposing its bright red digital blood. When one receives a cut in SAO it does not bleed crimson red but a pink shade with white lines crossing over each other to form squares. If you look close enough you can see the binary codes dashing back and forth, disappearing behind the edge of the cuts. Higuchi was overwhelmed with a sense of urgency when Illfang directed his attention towards Asuna. In an amazing display of agility she dodged the oncoming blade with the only thing taking damage being the cloak that covered her face. When the cloak was destroyed Higuchi was entranced by her face even if it was scowling at the hideous monster standing above her.

Her long chestnut hair, hazel eyes and her pleasant facial features immediately grabbed his attention and distracted him from the ensuing battle. Higuchi's world and everything in it seemed to slow down the more he stared at her gracefully moving about with her weapon drawn. Higuchi never believed in angels prior to the battle but upon seeing Asuna for the first time without her hood he was completely entranced by his new angel until he was blown away by Illfang's attack, depleting his health significantly. It wasn't enough to kill him but enough to send him flying into the wall and sliding down to the floor with a loud thump upon hitting the floor. He let out a curse at his own stupidity before attempting to rush back into battle before being stopped by Agil.

"Wait, your health has decreased you need a health potion." He said, bringing up his inventory and selected said health potion. He lightly tossed the small bottle Higuchi's way which he emptied and replenished his health back to 100%. "Thanks, I appreciate it." Higuchi said quickly before sprinting towards his enemy as it was being attacked by Kirito and Asuna. As soon as he made it back he heard Kirito yell "switch." Higuchi ran up behind Kirito and his boot rammed into his back. Using him as a boost, Higuchi practically flew through the air onto Illfang's nodachi swinging through the air. As quickly as he landed on the giant blade, his foot flew off of the giant nodachi, propelling him towards the monster's gaping jaws. The assassin slashed his blade through the air and scratched Illfang's right eye through his helmet. He leaped off of Illfang's helmet and slid down the monster's back with his katana blade jammed into its red flesh.

A loud roar escaped from the monster's gaping jaws as Higuchi leapt off of its back. He noticed it wasn't a roar of anger or frustration but a roar of pain and anguish. The skin on its back was ripped open and its eye was sliced in half. It was in agony and Higuchi didn't feel anything accept for relief. He felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He felt ecstatic but put it down to the adrenaline. The heat of the moment, that's all it was. "Kirito! Switch!" Higuchi called and Kirito rushed into action with his blade ahead of him. He watched as Kirito sliced Illfang in half. The digital blood didn't even have a lot of time to spill because it shattered into the polygons. It was defeated. The battle was over.

The word "CONGRATULATIONS" appeared in the middle of the room and at the sight of that everyone went silent. The silence was suddenly broken by loud cheering and sounds of celebration. Everyone wore wide grins that threatened to split their faces. They jumped up and down and held onto whoever was alive in a celebratory embrace. They didn't care if they knew the person they were hugging or not, they were just happy to be alive. Higuchi placed his sword in the scabbard that rested on his back. "Nice job." Asuna said and Higuchi turned to look at her. It had occurred to him that this was the first time he had seen her up close without the hood and found himself at a loss for words. In his mind, she was an angel, a descendent of heaven. He believed if there was a heaven he was far from it and Asuna was the closest thing to heaven he would ever know. He wasn't sure what to put this feeling down to but he enjoyed it.

"T-thank you." He said. He cursed himself in his head for stuttering. _How could I do something so stupid?_ He thought. When he looked up to see Asuna smiling all of the anger he had directed to himself had simply washed away. He had never felt this alive in a long time. "You did amazing. We couldn't have done it without you." Asuna only giggled slightly at his nervous nature. Quite frankly she found his shyness amusing, adorable even. "Stop cheering!" Kibaou shouted out interrupting the celebration. "You let Diavel die! You knew the technique the boss would use! You could have told us and maybe Diavel would still be alive." Higuchi simply stared at him as he spouted accusations. Unpleasant images flashed through his head and every single one of them involved Kibaou getting hurt in some way. He pictured impaling him with a katana and that gave way to decapitation. The thoughts cleared away as quickly as they came. ' _Just a thought,'_ he would later tell himself. ' _A passing thought.'_

"I know why he didn't say anything! He's a beta tester! Think about it, how else would he know the boss' attack patterns? He knew and he kept it to himself! And I bet he's not the only one here! Come on out! Show yourselves!" Some random person yelled from the crowd. Higuchi couldn't identify who the voice belonged to but imagined the voice belonged to one of the many whiney adolescents that had accompanied them on their trek. That didn't matter to Higuchi though. He only wanted one thing now and that was to hurt Kibaou in some form or fashion. He was everything he hated in a person, he had yet to meet someone who was worse but now he just wanted this stupid cocky bastard to stop breathing. Who the hell did he think he was? He went through all the trouble of trying to publish that book with all the ways to beat the first few bosses. How was he supposed to know his dad would change things?!

Asuna could detect his fury and gently placed a hand of his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" His anger finally simmered down upon hearing her voice.

"Yes. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? You looked pretty intense."

"Don't worry about me. I've… just got a lot of adrenaline still." Higuchi lied. How could he tell Asuna the things he was imagining? He didn't want to chase her away.

The victory and celebration was short lived because of Kibaou as everyone was starting to accuse each other being beta testers. Agil made a futile attempt to calm everyone down and Higuchi tried thinking of any way he could escape before the accusations reached him. He needed to leave without anyone noticing but if he suddenly left a bunch of angry players' sights would be set on him. "Wait a minute. That white haired guy, he knew the right strategy to defeat the boss, we all heard him. He must be a beta tester! How else would he know all of that?" This statement echoed from a random anonymous source. Everyone turned their attention to Higuchi, scowls wrinkling their faces and venomous whispers insidiously snuck into his ears. His head was swimming with anxiety mixed with rage. He was angry with the situation and the predicament he would be stuck in. None of this would have happened if his dad hadn't decided to design this goddamned game. He found himself asking himself. "Why? Why did I have to be stuck in this game? Why was I still being attacked despite attempting to help? Why were these idiots attacking me? I saved their lives, and this was how they thank me?" All these questions were running through his mind and he felt his hand twitch repeatedly. "How could you keep this from us?! We trusted you?! People died because of you!" Kibaou yelled and Higuchi found himself contemplating silencing all these idiots.

His hand twitched as it began to slowly raise to meet the handle of his sword. Before he could raise his hand above his waist Asuna stood in front of him. "Stop! What's the matter with you people? We don't have proof that he is a beta tester. Besides why does that even matter? People still would have died anyway; the boss was too powerful." She said, surprising everyone. Higuchi looked at her without blinking or even moving. Why did she defend him? She barely even knew him so there was no reason to help him.

The silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Higuchi's hand inched back to his side as everyone continued scowling at him and Asuna. He noticed that most of their attention was directed towards her because she decided to speak up for him. He could only assume that it was the same reason she let him join hers and Kirito's party, because she just wanted to help him. He couldn't let that happen to her after all she's done for him. "Asuna, it's fine." Higuchi said before directing his attention to the angry crowd, "I can just leave. You won't hear from me ever again." He turned and walks away from all of them, the only sound was the echoing of his boots on the floor. "You think you can just walk away?!" Kibaou yelled, again surprising everyone, "I'll make you pay for all the lives that were lost because of you!" The cactus head sprinted past everyone trying to stop him with his blade unsheathed. Higuchi saw his approach and was quick to act. Faster than Kibaou could make it to him he reached for his katana handle and pulled the sword from his scabbard. He turned quickly with his blade slicing through the air and through Kibaou's leg.

He flew through the air until his head collided with the stairs leading to the exit door. Higuchi felt uncontrollable rage and hate towards Kibaou and saw only one way to satisfy it. He would end Kibaou's worthless existence and he would do it as slowly as possible to savor every minute of it. A thought then came over him: 'What am I doing?' Kibaou saw double as a result of his head trauma but when his vision readjusted he saw Higuchi with his blade inches away from his face. He couldn't even move out of shock from losing his leg and from his life being threatened. He noticed Higuchi's expression. It was an expression of pure, unbridled hatred. He wore a scowl with his teeth bared which slowly faded to that of uneasiness at the realization of what he was doing. He took the blade away from his face and sheathed it again. "Don't come near me again or I'll cut off more than a leg."

He couldn't think of anything better to say, but there was nothing else that needed to be said. He began climbing the stairs, leaving Kibaou twitching slightly on the floor. He was interrupted when Asuna called out to him. He hesitated upon hearing her voice. What could she say to him now? He imagined she hated him now. She more likely than not despised him. And who could blame her? He slowly turned towards her. "You… kind of…" she said trying to find the correct way to word it. "Violent?" Higuchi asked and Asuna only looked down to the floor then back up to him. He couldn't help but find himself surprised because when he looked into her eyes he wasn't sure what it was she felt, but he could tell it wasn't fear. "I was going to say 'angry' but okay." Higuchi couldn't help but chuckle slightly before his face fell again. "I'll understand if you don't want to see me…"

"No. I wasn't going to say that… I just wanted to see… if you were okay. You looked like you lost control a little bit."

"Thanks, but I'm fine. If that's all…." He turned to walk away only to be stopped again.

"Wait, you said my name earlier. How did you know it?"

"You see the two life points gauges at the top right? Your name should be there you can see other people's names too." Higuchi pointed upwards on his right side to where the name would be located. Asuna's hazel eyes turned to look at where he was pointing and saw the name "Higuchi".

"Hi-gu-chi?" She pronounced it slowly, not wanting to get his name wrong. "Your name is Higuchi?"

"Yes. I know it's a very strange name but…."

"No. No. It's a very… nice name. I-I like it." She said the last statement quietly. She wasn't entirely sure as to why, but she was slightly embarrassed by how she said it. She thought about saying it again a little louder only for him to reply with an equally quiet, 'thank you'.

He was shocked that she had actually liked his name. He didn't imagine that anyone would like his name, in fact he never liked it much either. He couldn't change it though. He had based it on someone he had known in real life for a short period of time, but he couldn't remember who. The name had just come to him when it asked for an avatar name. Higuchi seemed like a decent fit at the time and now he was stuck with it.

He firmly gripped the skin in between his eyes on the bridge of his nose as he recalled what he had done. Kibaou's leg had long since ceased to exist but he was still twitching at the base of the staircase. He couldn't care less about him but Asuna's opinion mattered greatly. "I'm sorry about earlier. I-It wasn't me."

"I-I know. I just got a little worried. He probably deserved something but what you did was a little overboard."

"I'm sorry."

"That was just… kind of the last thing I had expected to see here. It was kind of intense."

"I'm sorry."

Higuchi was virtually a broken record, apologizing repeatedly at every sentence that Asuna said. He knew nothing else to say except, "I'm sorry." It wouldn't make up for it by any means, but it was better than nothing. That's how he rationalized it anyway. He attempted to justify to himself that his fit of anger that cost a man his leg not even a full five minutes ago was only a temporary fit. He had felt slightly better actually. A little more… What's the word? Calm. That's the word. He felt calm, collected and focused now. The adrenaline had faded, and his anger was satisfied. As for Kibaou, a few brave "knights" had quietly lifted him to his remaining foot and carried him away.

"I noticed we're still a party. I'll understand if you want to disband it. I know that was pretty…"

"I think that's a good idea." Kirito said to them as he walked up the stairs. "He has a bullseye on his back now after what he was revealed as a beta tester and what he just did. If we follow him, we'll all be targets. I think we should all go our separate paths for a while. We can meet up later in the game."

Asuna took this into consideration but felt wrong about leaving him alone to face whatever hatred would be thrown at him. His health had been depleted due to the fight and he didn't look all that strong. How could he fight off anything besides sub bosses? Higuchi could see the concern written on her face and said, "It's fine. I'd hate to say it but he's right. I don't want anything to happen to you because of me." He looked down at his feet with a mixture of shame, anxiety and despair that he did not dare show them. He wore a fake smile and said, "This isn't 'goodbye' after all. Right?"

Kirito nodded and so did Asuna, a little more hesitantly than Kirito did. "I know we didn't know each other very well, but here's hoping we meet again." Kirito said as he held his hand out. Higuchi stared down at the friendly gesture and detected a sort of falseness in it. Nevertheless, he gripped it firmly as was expected of him. "Good luck." Asuna said and Higuchi nodded with artificial certainty before walking off beyond the now open exit door. He was once again, alone.


	4. Chapter 4

The past few weeks have been uneventful for Higuchi . He was now alone, and he had since gotten used to the idea that it would most likely be a permanent thing. He had told himself that it was for the best for him and everyone else. He was residing in a small hotel and paid for it using the money he had earned from the boss fight and minor looting missions. Everyone had been talking about him as a beta tester and calling him a cheater. The term "beater" had come about by combining the two words together, but Higuchi wouldn't have had to complain if he hadn't been scorned by almost everyone else.

He had spent many sleepless nights pacing in his room and sitting on the uncomfortable bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. He never bothered to change out of his battle outfit into casual clothes until the third night he was in there. He was only missing his white trench coat and black boots, which was in his inventory, and only wore all black clothing. His white hair contrasted greatly with the rest of the black clothing apart from the patches of white on his shirt. Memories flashed through his mind about the boss fight and the events following after it. Whenever Asuna's face appeared in his memories all he felt was a wave of melancholy that rose up and forced its way throughout out the rest of his body. This always showed up when he was trying to relax, and the energy would always find its way back into him when he remembered her. The times he did fall asleep were nothing short of a miracle.

Higuchi never left his apartment in the morning, choosing instead to leave during the afternoons and evenings. Fewer players were out in the evenings and he wanted to avoid as many people as possible for his own safety. He feared that the people who knew of all that he had done would have followed him to the second floor and would go after him. He stood in the almost empty town square and pulled up his request menu. He'd had much time to think over the time he had been stuck in Sword Art Online. He had thought of how much time had passed and what was going on in the real world. There was no form of electronic entertainment within the game except for the game itself. He had slowly gotten used to life in the digital world and had gotten the hang of using his digital body and using his weapon to kill his enemies. His life had become a routine of pace, hunt and kill on repeat for several weeks. Pace, hunt and kill, only taking breaks to replenish his strength with food.

He had followed many players through to the 11th floor and had successfully evaded attention being drawn to himself. He traveled through Taft and beyond and found several quests that offered money that would help him pay for his food and lodgings.

Taft was the town available on the 11th floor and it seemed to be populated by guilds gathering together to celebrate their victory on the previous floor and the restored hope that they all would survive. He couldn't help but notice there were a lot of taverns and pubs around and all of them were full. He could have sworn that he saw a familiar black-haired swordsman but shook the thought from his head. Why did that get his attention? There were a lot of black-haired people in the world, both in real life and in this game. He continued walking through the small town in order to gather his bearings,. He hadn't been there for very long and was looking for quests that hadn't been taken yet. He had the advantage of starting earlier than everyone else as most of them had just gotten there and were taking a break from fighting after defeating monsters bigger than the buildings surrounding him.

"Hey, you," He heard a feminine voice call out. He assumed it was meant for someone else as he hadn't known anyone in this town. "Over here!" The voice called out to him, but it was closer this time. He looked to see a girl with fluffy pink hair running over to him. As soon as she reached him she stopped for a few seconds to catch her breath before straightening up again, "Hey, long time no see." The red and white clothing looked like some kind of waitress uniform so that's what he assumed she worked as but he wasn't going to say anything.

"Hi… Do I know you?"

"What? Yeah, you do. Remember? We met on the first floor. You helped me find a blacksmith job." Higuchi remained silent, attempting to remember what exactly she meant before it came back to him. "Oh, that's right. Lisbeth, right."

"You were just looking at my HP gauge to find my name, weren't you?"

"…Yeah."

He didn't want to admit it and he was hoping that she wouldn't find out, but she was smarter than he'd initially anticipated. Still, she couldn't expect him to remember her after not having seen her for a couple months and only having a conversation that lasted a few seconds. He expected her to be upset with him. It was a small act of deceit but an act of deceit nonetheless. Instead, she surprised him. "It's fine. I guess it has been a long time." She said with a pleasant smile. "Anyway, how have you been. You look great." She didn't want to tell him he looked tired or sick. He did look like that, though. He hadn't been sleeping normally for a long time for a reason inexplicable to him.

"Thanks, you too. How's the blacksmithing coming along?"

"Still haven't settled down anywhere permanent yet but I've managed to find some work doing freelance maintenance and repairs."

"Whatever puts food on your table, Lisbeth."

"Just call me Liz. Everybody does."

"Ok, Liz."

It felt strange saying Liz, but it was a gesture of familiarity on the pink haired girl's part and he was willing to accept the act of kindness. He decided to keep the fact of his beta testing from her in the event that she decided to turn away from him. That had been ruined rather quickly by an unappealing man who decided to interrupt their conversation. The man wore a dark red shirt under armor that only covered his chest and stomach. His hair was a Caesar hairstyle that was a light shade of hazel. Higuchi thought this man's face resembled that of a goat and the hairs growing on his chin made him almost anticipate horns to be growing out of his head. The name on his HP gauge read Fomar. "Liz. I knew I'd find you eventually."

"Oh… hey Fomar." Liz looked down with an irritated expression and let out a small sigh.

"I've been looking for you all over the place. What? You don't like me anymore? You'd rather hang with the beater here?" The goat like man said gesturing towards Higuchi. His stumpy legs wouldn't allow his finger to even reach Higuchi's chest.

"He doesn't have anything to do with… wait, beater?" Liz's eyes went from irritated to shock.

Higuchi scowled down at the small man and wanted desperately to end his life. Just like for Kibaou, images of killing the little goat man in violent ways ranging from drowning him in a lake to setting him ablaze. His gloved hand curled up into a fist because of Fomar's insults and his cover being blown. Fomar turned to Liz with a sneer, "Oh, you didn't know about that did ya?"

"J-Just get out of here Fomar." Liz said turning away from him, infuriating the dwarven man. He reached up and grabbed onto the red bow on her chest forcing her down to her knees.

"You think you can talk to me like that? You still owe me. If you want me to keep quiet about you hanging out with the beater your debt will just increase. I didn't have to help you out, but I did because of what you could do for me, however you've failed to do even that. I'm gonna be damned if you aren't going to respect me enough to look me in the eye! Do I make myself clear?!" His hand was ripped away from Liz by Higuchi gripping onto his wrist. He looked up to see Higuchi scowling down at him, his free fist balled and his eyes glaring daggers at him. "This is who you're turning to now? Even someone like you could do better than this…" The heel of Higuchi's boot broke the smaller man's nose, forcing him down on the cold, hard ground.

"Piss off." He growled with a threatening tone as he stood over the little man. His body blocked the sun, shrouding his features in shadow apart from his white eyes, which shined brightly. Fomar had not learned his lesson whatsoever and didn't even acknowledge that his physical safety was threatened but only saw that his pride was threatened. He got back onto his feet and scowled up at the man who knocked him on his back. "You shouldn't have done that you little shit." He reached behind him to grab the thick sword that rested on his back. "I'll have you begging for death…." His speech was interrupted by Higuchi's boot ramming into his stomach. He had made the mistake of making Higuchi angry and images flashed throughout his mind of mutilating and torturing the dwarven bastard before him. He had gone far enough to expose him as a beta tester, so he had made himself an enemy of Higuchi. "You dirty bastard!" Fomar had not even drawn his weapon before the white haired assassin's mind flooded with the unpleasant images of Fomar's small body being broken and twisted and him squealing like a stuck pig. He found himself enjoying these images greatly to the point where, try as he might, he couldn't stop himself from grinning.

He had begun to feel fear creeping upon him. What was he if he found pleasure in such thoughts? Only evil monsters find true pleasure in this, so why did he? He conjured up his will to the best of his ability and it only proved to be just enough to suppress those thoughts raging in his mind, until he looked up to see Liz backing away as soon as his gaze fell upon her. Her face twisted in shock and horror. He felt nothing but confusion until he looked down. He saw himself standing above an unrecognizable man until he saw the name floating under a now yellow HP gauge. Fomar's face was now swollen, battered and bruised. His left eye swollen shut, his nose was so crooked it almost looked twisted and the cuts on his flesh would have been bleeding if there were actual blood in the game. The teeth that had gone flying from his mouth had long since shattered into colorful polygons. He did not move except to occasionally twitch.

Higuchi saw the knuckles of his gloves that were once black now glowing a bright red like the scars and the computerized blood that was spilling from Fomar's nose and mouth. He knew he had done this, but what had frightened him was that he had no memory of it at all. His mind failed to recall ever beating the goat man to this hideous state but he noticed that his cheeks and the corners of his mouth felt strange, almost painful. He reached up to ease the muscles slightly and noticed they hurt because he was smiling. His smile quickly faded, and his expression changed to one of fear. What had he done? What was wrong with him? He saw Liz and knew it would be best if he didn't say anything. The poor girl looked so frightened, her eyes were unblinking, and her hands were over her mouth. He wasn't sure what to feel. She noticed his looked of dazed confusion and couldn't help but feel confused herself. His face went from a cracked and disturbed smile to a confused expression laced with fear. The sudden mood swing was strange to her and they both forgot about the dwarven man that was twitching in pain.

Higuchi could only think to himself, " _Poor girl_ ", while she wasn't sure what to think of this at all. She had noticed his fear and the sadness in his expression and it was a stark contrast to the enraged scowl which shifted to a sadistic, toothy grin when he was beating Fomar down. He slowly rose from the bleeding dwarf and backed away from the frightened girl. "I'm sorry" he finally said, quietly, and she moved her hands away from her mouth. He turned abruptly and sprinted away. " _I don't want to hurt you_ ", he wanted to say, but could only do so in his head. He imagined that Liz would never want to see him at all. He could have handled things differently, but he only made things even worse for himself and he came to the realization that maybe he should be alone. He couldn't trust himself not to hurt anyone and he would much rather it be himself.

Liz watched him run away and couldn't get the changing expressions out of her head and her fear morphed into confusion. He looked so scared by what he had done and she wanted desperately to call out, "wait", but when her senses returned to her again, she couldn't bring herself to do it. By the time she had finally said, "wait", he had already gone, and his white figure faded into the distance. Liz's gaze fell to Fomar's now unconscious body with his swollen and bruised face and now didn't feel anything.

Higuchi had successfully evaded the onlookers that had surrounded the one sided fight that had turned into a brutal beating. He didn't know what else to do except to run. This part of him was something he had only felt like doing and never thought he was actually capable of. "That guy didn't attack me like Kibaou did. I didn't even know him. I shouldn't have done that and now I've frightened another innocent girl away from me." He only slowed down when he was in an isolated part of town and decided this was the perfect place to fight back his tears of frustration. "What kind of freak am I?!" He had screamed at himself inside of his head. "This isn't me," he repeated to himself over and over again in his head as fear rather than guilt consumed him. He didn't feel guilt for the man he had beaten to near death. He felt fear as to what people would see him as now. He knew he could never pursue a relationship with another person lest they be scared off like Liz. The only one who wasn't scared of him was Asuna and she was nowhere to be seen. He held back his tears as he fell to his hands and knees as a result of exhaustion. His hoarse wheezing was the only sound that filled his ears as he swallowed the bile that had risen up. He had never run that far so fast in his life. He just wanted to rid himself of some emotion at the realization that he was better off alone and the civilized world would be better off without him.

His eyes rose to see what looked like a child slowly walking by, facing forward with only a blank expression on his face. As soon as he showed up he faded away. Higuchi couldn't get a clear look at him. He was unable to make out any distinguishable features, so he just looked back down to the ground. He wheezed out some more exhausted breaths and his chest felt painfully tight as if the entire world was pushing down on him. He didn't even know where he was at this point. He could've been in an abandoned town that once was or would soon be populated by players. The town, however, wasn't completely abandoned. There were a few players roaming about here and there, not even bothering to notice him. He knew he had to get up or else he would run out of oxygen, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. His thoughts strayed to the past, his first time in the game, the battle where he was exposed as a beta tester, Asuna defending him and the aftermath of his recent attack. He couldn't go back. He couldn't go anywhere no matter what he did or said. "There is nothing for me," he thought to himself before he heard his name being called out by a familiar voice. "Higuchi."


	5. Chapter 5

He looked up in shock and his face grew warm with anxiety as he saw a familiar person jogging lightly towards him. Asuna was wearing different attire now, it was the white and red clothing of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. The guild had grown quite famous since its initial founding and became the guild everyone wanted to join with the promise of protection and it was led by the strongest and smartest players in the game. How had Asuna managed to become a member? Higuchi felt stupid for asking himself that, of course she would be a member. Her expression went from surprise at his presence to worry because of his current state. "Are you okay?" She asked him as he quickly scrambled to his feet. He couldn't let her see him like this. He coughed twice to clear the phlegm from his throat and said. "Yes, I was just running for a long time."

"Geez take it easy okay?" Asuna said with concern.

"Ok. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He said quietly. He couldn't bring himself to look up at her. She was the first and only person in the world that he wanted to see but his shame and uneasiness prevented him from looking at her the way he wanted. No way of looking at her would be good enough.

Asuna detected this uneasiness and remembered that this was what he was like. He was a shy and detached person. Upon seeing him now she wanted to learn more about him. She would normally be cold and distant to a vast majority of people, but she figured the white-haired beta tester needed someone there and a mean statement would be the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Hey, I was just going to grab some food. You want to come?" She said, only for his head to jerk upward suddenly.

"Who...? Me?" He asked awkwardly.

"There isn't anyone else here is there?" She said and he only said, "Oh… right" A voice in his head yelled at him saying, "Nice work dumbass."

"I would very much like to go." Higuchi said, showing a small and careful smile.

"I don't normally invite people out like this, so… yeah." Asuna says as they walk off.

The restaurant they went to was a smaller building owned by an NPC that took the form of a friendly old man. They had already ordered their food and Asuna couldn't help but notice that he had requested something rather small. He didn't feel right eating in front of her for some reason. He was very worried about her perception of him, it mattered to him very greatly. "So why were you running earlier?" Asuna asked after a minute of silence.

"I'm sorry?"

"You said you had been running for a while when I saw you. Why were you running?" Higuchi put his fork back down onto his plate and his gaze dropped down to his lap. He had just started to forget about his shameful actions that cost an innocent girl's trust in him and the previous town's impression of him. "I… um… I don't know. I just kind of wanted to." He lied staring down at his meal. Part of his mind knew that Asuna didn't believe him.

"Are you sure about that?" She said pulling up something from her inventory and turned it around to display a message. "Because I got a message from my friend."

Higuchi's mind swam with worry as he tried to come up with an answer when he saw the message from Liz.

"Hey Asuna, I was looking for work on the 11th floor and met that white-haired guy you told me about. He's just as violent as you said. He beat the crap out of one of the guys here and it freaked me the heck out. It was just such a violent mood swing. It's kind of concerning, he seemed almost afraid when he came to his senses. He made me worry about him a little. The freakiest thing is he was smiling the whole time. Sorry to ask you but if you see him check up on him, will you? But please be careful. -Liz."

Higuchi felt a familiar anxiety crawl up his spine. He felt pins and needles in his feet, hands and even his face. The room suddenly felt warmer when his mistake was brought to his attention once again even if the temperature of the room never changed.

"When did she send this?" Higuchi asks, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Just today. She reached out to me because I told her about you after the first dungeon," She said to him. "What is up with you? You have these… swings and it always seems like someone gets hurt."

"I-I don't know."

"She said you were smiling; do you do this on purpose?" She demanded.

"No." Higuchi said frantically, "I don't know what happened. I-I…" He paused.

"You what?" Asuna said, after waiting for a minute.

"I don't know," Higuchi said quietly, staring down at his untouched food.

"What do you know?"

"That I didn't want it to happen. It just did." He says. Anxiety had long since conquered all his senses and Asuna noticed him shaking slightly.

"Are… you okay?" She asked him and when he didn't respond she figured she had pushed the matter too far. It's unlikely he could have done something like what her friend described, right? He didn't look strong enough to do that but looks could be deceiving. Maybe it was happened in the first dungeon. Maybe he just lost control and he didn't mean too. Like the first incident, he looked to be overwhelmed with shame and remorse. What she needed to do now was not say anything that would trigger this violent reaction again.

'Is he crazy or something?' She thought.

"I'm fine." Higuchi said.

"I can see you're not. You're sweating through your shirt." Asuna told him. Embarrassment was hardly the right word to describe the feeling he had but he could think of no others. How she perceived him mattered greatly and she saw this side of him that he had never felt before and that he had hoped never to show anyone.

"Sorry. I…"

"You don't have to apologize. I'm just trying to understand it that's all." Asuna said trying to sound as reassuring as possible. It seemed to work, because he calmed down slightly.

"I don't even understand it." Higuchi said, "It just… happened."

"Okaaay…?" Asuna said, "Let's change the subject then."

Higuchi let out a small sigh of relief but tried not to make it obvious. He looked to Asuna and she noticed she was looking at his largely untouched meal.

"Is… Something wrong with the food?" She asked him.

"Oh! Sorry, I got distracted by the conversation." He said nervously before his eyes fell. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize; I was just wondering."

"Sorry." He said quietly as a trembling hand made its way to the silverware and slowly lifted up a little of his food. It was actually very delicious. The conversation had gone on enough for it to cool down enough for consumption. He had to make sure that he didn't eat unreasonable amounts in front of Asuna though. He wouldn't care so much if he was alone but her opinion of him mattered exponentially. He couldn't explain why but he just did.

"You're… very quiet." Asuna said after a while.

"I… I don't really have anything of value to say." Higuchi replied as he put more food in his mouth. He was careful not to cut off such a large portion of meat that he would have to stretch his mouth wide open, so he resorted to cutting it small enough so it would look like he barely opened his mouth at all. Anything else would be impolite and thus incriminate to him.

"Come on. I'm sure that's not true." She said after taking a bite of her food, "So you're a beta tester huh?"

Higuchi flinched at her question and remained silent for a moment before saying, "People seem to think that."

"Wait, are you or are you not?" She asked. His statement was very vague.

"No, not really. I guess I'm just relatively decent at strategy." He replied.

"What do you mean 'relatively'? Your idea brought down the boss and managed to get everyone past the first floor. I'd hardly call that relative." She said. Could he have been a beta tester or was he just a good strategist? His strategy was more than enough to defeat the boss. He didn't say anything though. He figured that no matter what he said she wouldn't believe him.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked him.

"I didn't think anyone would believe me." Higuchi said, "Would they really take the word of an accused beta-tester? They have no reason to take my word for it."

Asuna couldn't ignore that point. It was relatively valid. And him severing the leg of Kibaou had only increased suspicions.

"I would have taken your side." She said.

The white-haired assassin looked up in surprise. What did she have to gain from taking his side? If anything, she benefited more from going against him.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just would… No particular reason I guess." She said. "I take it you've been alone for quite some time now."

Higuchi nodded in confirmation, "I didn't think anyone would want me around them. I've been living off of money from solo quests and sneaking onto other floors after the bosses have been defeated."

"You haven't thought about joining a guild?" She asked.

"I didn't know where to find one." He said.

A moment of silence.

She was trying to read his face, see if there was any sense of exaggeration or falsehood. She could find no obvious signs of trickery, but his face held a rather empty expression. It was almost as if he was ashamed of something. She wasn't entirely wrong; since the first boss he's been living with the idea that he had done something wrong and was consumed by indignity.

"So, Christmas just passed a little while ago." Asuna said,

"Yes, it did."

"Did you… I don't know… Do anything?"

"No."

"Did you see or hang out with anyone?"

"No."

"No friends came over or anything?"

"I don't have any friends."

With that Asuna suddenly leapt from her seat in front of him. The plates in front of them jumped with the force of her slamming her hands dramatically on the table. Higuchi dropped his fork that still had a fragment of potato on it having been startled by the outburst.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" She hollered, drawing the attention of a lot of people in the diner. "NO FRIENDS AT ALL?!"

"N-None to speak of." Higuchi stuttered, slightly embarrassed. His eyes darted around to see people were staring at them. Some whispering about a lovers' quarrel. Others thought Higuchi said something stupid to set her off. Either way he felt a great sense of shame and humiliation he thought he would have become accustomed to but he hadn't.

Asuna finally settled back down into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest while letting out a "hmph."

"You're pitiful you know that?" She said.

"I'm sorry." Higuchi responded quietly.

"Jeez, stop apologizing." She said.

Higuchi didn't know what else to say other than an apology, so he just kept quiet.

"I'm not saying this to be mean you know?" Asuna said. "I didn't mean to startle you or make you upset, I was just a bit surprised is all. I thought you would have at least gotten along with someone."

"I almost did." Higuchi said.

"What happened?"

"Exactly what Lisbeth told you. I beat someone up."

They both went silent. This was the topic both had been hoping to avoid but they somehow had circled right back around to it. Asuna decided to get back to the subject they had previously been discussing before things got even more awkward.

"So… No friends huh?" She said.

"No, not really." He responded, looking up at her as he was speaking, but then looking back down again. He didn't know why he was doing such a thing, though. He felt as if he were unable to look her in the eyes for very long. If he had done so while he was silent, she would think he was a creep and be scared off. He heard her say, "Jeez" again and a notification popped up no sooner than she said it.

It was a friend request and an offer to join a guild. Not just any guild. It was the Knights of the Blood Oath guild.

"Well? Are you gonna accept it or not?" Asuna said impatiently.

"Wait. You… Want to be friends… with me? Me of all people?" Higuchi asked. It was just too good to be true.

"Duh." She said in response. "And it would probably be best if you joined my guild while you're at it too. It's the most powerful guild in the game so it can offer you protection. It also pays you for the successful completion of jobs so you can find a way to… channel that anger of yours. And speaking of which, if you don't join us it's only a matter of time before the Laughing Coffin tracks you down to get you to join their ranks."

The Laughing Coffin was a guild of sociopaths and serial killers who tracked down vulnerable players in the game and killed them for fun. Higuchi hadn't killed anyone yet but he had come close to it so Asuna did have a point.

Higuchi didn't know what to say. On one hand, he didn't feel right about accepting this. He didn't want to be a burden on Asuna. Being her friend would be the greatest thing he could achieve, but he thought it would take a lot more effort out of him than just a single meetup at a diner. Making friends couldn't be THAT easy, could it? On the other hand, what harm could there be? Maybe joining a guild could be beneficial for him. It was the most powerful guild in the game so he could be protected by them if he didn't do anything to get him kicked out.

What harm could there be? He'd finally befriend Asuna. He supposed there was a part of him that wanted to be her friend for quite some time now. So, now that the opportunity presented itself, why not?

He tapped on the confirm response for both the joining guild notification and the friend request. And Asuna saw his response.

"Okay, good. Now no more complaining about not having friends, got it?" She said.

"I-I didn't mean to complain." Higuchi said.

"You kind of did." Asuna replied.

"Sorry."

"Hey, lighten up will ya?" She said, playfully slapping his left shoulder. "I was only teasing you." She smiled. It was a very radiant smile.

He could become addicted to seeing her happy.

He'd have to try making her happy more often.


End file.
